Personally, I recommend holding that debate at the subcommittee to ensure that a broader study is done and to have representatives appear from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all the social media. In that way, we would be able to see the possible and potential repercussions, and we would not have to make assumptions about what is happening, what could be happening, or what did not happen.
At the moment, things are fuzzy. Some information seems to be bandied around by the social media. It is now affecting Canada, but the scope is even wider. Facebook is accessible everywhere on the planet. It is not just the Government of Canada that uses Facebook and social media.
In that context, I am reassured to see that the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics is considering a study of this matter. We will see what the result is. The meeting is public, so we will be able to read the blues. No report will be published but we will be able to read the blues.
The subcommittee should consider it and reserve time for people from Facebook, among others, to appear. Personally, I see no problem with that. We will find the time to plan that meeting.
However, this motion asks for the meeting to be held no later than May 10. That is a little quick and does not allow us to plan the meeting. Up to now, the committee has always planned its meetings very consensually and very well. I feel that we should continue in that spirit.
There is no point in rejecting the motion simply out of principle. It is just a matter of not doing the same thing twice.
I propose that we vote now, so that we can move on to something else.